England have named a reshuffled XI for the Champions Trophy tournament opener against Australia on Saturday (February 22).
Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith is fit to play in the match, having missed the final two T20Is and all three ODIs of England's series against India earlier this month. Smith will keep wicket over Phil Salt and will bat at No.3, pushing Joe Root down to No.4. The 24-year-old has never previously batted higher than No.5 in ODIs, having made his debut last summer.
Salt will continue at the top of the order as a specialist batter, opening the batting with Ben Duckett, while Harry Brook will fit at No.5 and captain Jos Buttler at No.6. The bowling attack for the game will see the return of both Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse, who missed games in India due to injury concerns, with Mark Wood also in the side. Adil Rashid will operate as the only spinner, with the fifth bowler role combined between Root and Liam Livingstone.
🗣️ "It's not likely that our team and the relative experience of it is going to have the skill and the nous to win what is a very difficult form of cricket."@markbutcher72 on England's ODI struggles ahead of the Champions Trophy 📉
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 13, 2025
🤝 @MenofManual #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/FFm1uIGktH
England XI for Champions Trophy match against Australia
England XI: Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
Tom Banton, who made his ODI return after over two years in the final ODI in India, will make way in the XI. The top-order batter replaced Jacob Bethell in England's squad for the tournament, and will sit out the match alongside seamers Saqib Mahmood, Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton.
England will be facing Australia, who were hampered in their squad selection by several injuries. Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc are all missing the competition, in addition to allrounder Mitchell Marsh.
The match will take place in Lahore, and will be the second game in Group B after Afghanistan take on South Africa tomorrow (February 21). India and New Zealand made winning starts to the tournament in Group A, beating Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively.
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